I've become a total coffee nerd in the last couple years, and I blame one of my old roommates for this. In the best possible way of course. I had access to a myriad of different coffee gadgets, so I went from using a French press regularly to exploring single cup brewing methods. One of the brewing methods I tried out was the AeroPress, and I can't even begin to describe how much I love it. I love it so much, I couldn't resist writing about it because it's pretty much all you need to make a great cup of coffee on the go. Besides some good coffee beans of course! Who even really likes hotel coffee anyway?
For those that don't know, the AeroPress is an immersion brewing device, but you get some extraction through pressure as well. When you press, the water is pushed through a small paper filter at the bottom which eliminates the grit from the coffee and creates a nice, clean cup of coffee. For best results, you want your grind to be on the finer side (but not too fine). Here's why I love it for my travels.
It's Compact
It comes in a great, compact package that doesn't take up much space. I just keep mine in the front pocket of my food bag in the little zipper pouch that came with it. The opening on the part you press is wide enough to fit some hand grinder models as well so if you want to grind up fresh coffee on the road, you can bring along a grinder without sacrificing hardly any more space. Here's the grinder I personally use that fits in the press, and here's a photo of what I mean:
If you want an even more compact package, they make another version of the AeroPress that is geared specifically towards traveling. It can be found here. This other model is a little bit smaller and comes with a carrying case that doubles as a cup (I have not personally tried this version but thought it was worth mentioning). I feel the original one works best for me though because it has the space to fit a grinder, and I have yet to stay somewhere where they don't have cups I can use. On that note, just be careful if you are using a paper cup because if you press too hard, the cup could collapse.
It's Absurdly Easy to Clean
It's hard to think of a coffee maker that is easier to clean up than one of these (except maybe a V60). Once you've pressed the coffee, it creates a small puck at the bottom of all the beans that you can just squeeze out into a trashcan without hardly any mess at all. I just rinse off all three pieces and then it's ready to go back in my bag. This is particularly nice for when you're in a hotel room with only a small sink. When I'm at home, I just put all the pieces of the press on the top shelf of my dishwasher and I'm all set for the next trip.
It Doesn't Take Long to Brew a Cup
On the days where I'm getting up super early, I only give myself an hour from alarm to van time. Having something like the AeroPress that can make a good cup of coffee in a short amount of time is awesome. If you don't include the time it takes for me to grind my beans, it only takes about two minutes to brew a cup of coffee.
It Makes Amazing Coffee
The reason it makes awesome coffee is because the method with which you choose to brew is quite customizable. You can adjust how much pressure you use, how fine or coarse you grind your beans, how long you let the water sit, and so forth. I could go on and on. In fact, here's a fun video showing nine different ways to brew with it. Whatever your preferred method is, you'll get your ideal cup of coffee once you dial in your process. One of my personal favorite ways to brew is the inversion method, particularly because the yield is the perfect amount for almost every cup that you'll find at a hotel. This is where you flip the press upside down onto the plunger and pour in your coffee and water (the main photo up top is actually an inverted press). When you're ready to press you flip it over on top of your mug and press away. Just be careful when you do this so the pieces don't come apart!
I've dialed in my method so that I get a nice bold flavor, but you can do whatever you want to create your ideal cup of coffee. Part of the fun is experimenting with times and ratios to get that perfect cup. Play around with it and see what you like! When you get yours, you'll know why I can't recommend it enough. Happy brewing!
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